Mary Katharine already covered the first part of this exchange and noted the second, but it’s worth revisiting for Mitch McConnell’s brief rebuttal. The Republican incumbent scoffs at Alison Grimes’ invocation of a sacred right to avoid answering an obvious question, and demonstrates it by announcing he “proudly” voted against Barack Obama in the last two presidential elections:

There’s also no sacred right to not announce how we vote. I voted for Mitt Romney, proudly. I voted for John McCain. And by the way, 116 out of 120 Kentucky counties agreed with my judgment that we might be in better shape now had Mitt Romney been elected.

Well, there actually is a right to keep your vote to yourself, but that’s not really the reason why we have a secret ballot. The secret ballot is to ensure that the government can’t find out how you voted, and punish you accordingly if it is so inclined. A pleasant side effect of that is that private citizens can tell their neighbors and relations that their vote is none of their business, or can share their votes from the mountaintop if they prefer.

But Alison Grimes isn’t running for the position of Private Citizen. She’s running for the US Senate in a cycle where Barack Obama’s agenda is very much on the table — just as Obama himself insisted earlier this month. She wants Kentucky voters to replace McConnell with her, but won’t say whether she’ll vote for Obama’s agenda, instead offering wishy-washy language about independence while taking no stands on Obama policies like ObamaCare and coal restrictions. Now she wants to pretend that, even though Grimes served as a delegate to both of the Democratic National Conventions, in 2008 and 2012, that nominated Obama for President, her support of Obama in the election is somehow a mystery — and that it’s none of the business of Kentucky voters because of the principle of the secret ballot.

She told the Herald-Leader in 2012 that it was “no secret” she was attending the Democratic National Convention as an Obama delegate.

“I’m a lifelong Democrat,” Grimes told the Herald-Leader. “I’m very proud of that and the values our party stands for. My support of our party and our nominee is well known.”

The McConnell campaign circulated video of Grimes’ response Thursday, along with a picture of her and her husband, Andrew, at the 2013 Kentucky Society’s Bluegrass Ball, one of a series of inaugural balls that celebrated the re-elected president’s swearing-in.

Sure, Grimes can keep refusing to answer the question, but it’s not because of principle. It’s out of naked ambition and self-preservation. This latest attempt to spin this as a principled stand is sanctimonious hypocrisy. It’s both dishonest and unfair to Kentucky voters, who after all will have to choose who gets to vote for them in the US Senate.

Two years ago, Grimes was “very proud” to announce her support for Barack Obama, and now McConnell is the only one “proudly” talking about the votes he cast in the last two presidential cycles. That speaks volumes about Grimes’ judgment, and this response speaks perhaps as loudly about her character.

This latest attempt to spin this as a principled stand is sanctimonious hypocrisy. Its both dishonest and unfair to Kentucky voters, who after all will have to choose who gets to vote for them in the US Senate.

If the sons & daughters needed her answer, then they really are stupid. Because it is obvious as the nose on her face whom she voted for in 2008 & 2112. Hint: it wasn't McCain or Romney.

We need leaders that can give a straight answer to a simple question. The problem with liberals is that they simply can’t tell the truth! They can produce a budget because then the truth that we are bankrupt would come out.

As part of the KY democrat leadership she has participated in one of the largest frauds ever. KY is borrowing money to pretend to fund the retirement system. If Maddof could have issued bonds to continue his scheme like KY he may never have been caught.

A good question would be: When KY files for bankruptcy, would you vote for a federal bailout funded by QE3?

1. McConnell Voted to Let Harry Reid Fund ObamaCare (2013, RCV 206) Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky voted to end debate and allow Senate Democrats to re-insert funding for ObamaCare into the Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government. Although McConnell did vote against the final bill, he and all Republicans knew that voting for cloture to end debate would allow Senator Harry Reid to fund ObamaCare by a party-line vote, and thus a vote for cloture was a de facto vote to fund ObamaCare.

2. McConnell Voted for the Fiscal Cliff Tax Hike (2012, RCV 251) The fiscal cliff was a fake crisis created by Congress and the president. In which President Obama threatened to shut the government down if Republicans refused to massively raise taxes. In response, Senator McConnell personally negotiated with Vice President Biden and produced a New Years Day 2013 fiscal cliff deal that raised payroll taxes on 77 percent of U.S. households and contained no real spending cuts.

3. McConnell Voted for the Ineffective Super Committee Debt Hike (2011, RCV 123) During the 2011 debt ceiling impasse, McConnell came up with the idea of allowing President Obama to increase the debt limit three times in exchange for allowing Congress a symbolic vote of disapproval each time. McConnells idea carried the day and he voted to pass the Budget Control Act, which allowed over $2 trillion in new debt. In return, taxpayers got stuck with the super-committee, which failed to come up with any agreement on targeted spending cuts and gave us the across-the-board sequestration cuts instead.

4. McConnell Voted for the Wall Street Bailout (T.A.R.P.) (2008, RCV 213) Senator McConnell voted for the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street. Taxpayers should never have been forced to pay for the reckless lending practices of the big banks. McConnell took credit for being a major part of negotiating the bailout, and called the passage of T.A.R.P. the Senate at its finest.

5. McConnell Voted to Bail Out the Housing Market (2008, RCV 186) Senator McConnell also voted to bail out the government-sponsored mortgage lending companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The risky lending activities of these organizations were a major factor in creating the housing bubble that led to the financial collapse of 2008, yet McConnell and the Senate voted to allow Fannie and Freddie to borrow up to $300 billion of the taxpayers money.

6. McConnell Voted to Increase the Federal Minimum Wage (2007, RCV 42) Senator McConnell voted for the Fair Minimum Wage Act that increased the federal minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour in 2007. Raising the minimum wage is a bad idea because it reduces employment especially among low-skilled workers. The cost of raising the minimum wage is passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices for goods and services.

7. McConnell Voted to Give the Government Unprecedented Surveillance Powers (2006, RCV 25) In spite of warnings by 4th Amendment and privacy advocates, Senator McConnell voted to make most of the USA-PATRIOT Acts provisions permanent in 2006. He also voted for the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which granted immunity to U.S. telecommunication companies for giving information about their customers to the government without a warrant (2008, RCV 168). Together, the Patriot Act and the FISA Amendments Act authorized unprecedented surveillance powers that have been used by the FISA courts to allow bulk data collection on U.S. citizens without a warrant. Yet McConnell called the Patriot Act one of the most important and overdue pieces of legislation in a generation, and declared that perhaps it did not go far enough.

8. McConnell Voted against Eliminating the Federal Ethanol Mandate (2005, RCV 138) Senator McConnell voted to table an amendment that would have eliminated the federal mandate that forced ethanol to be blended into the fuel supply. The ethanol mandate is a market-distorting disaster that has increased the cost of gasoline, while environmentalist groups admit that it is actually bad for the environment (not to mention your car).

9. McConnell Voted for Massive New Energy Subsidies and Regulations (2007, RCV 430) Senator McConnell voted for final passage on an omnibus energy bill that created massive new subsidies for green energy development, while also tightening environmental regulations in some areas. The bill massively tightened fuel mileage requirements for passenger vehicles and created a new renewable fuels standard, both of which have increased the cost of both cars and fuel. Also, this is the bill that started the infamous phase-out of incandescent light bulbs.

10. McConnell Voted for Medicare Part D (2003, RCV 457) Senator McConnell voted to pass Medicare Part D, a massive entitlement expansion that conservatives rightly predicted would tremendously expand the deficit and add trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities to the federal rolls.

10
posted on 10/14/2014 7:04:43 AM PDT
by Theophilus
(Be as prolific as you are pro-life.)

My parents, Goldwater conservatives were already not voting for McConnell because of most of the votes you listed already, then come his attacks on them and other conservatives which just confirmed their thoughts about the man.

One has to believe that McConnell really is stupid or he actively along with the GOPE have decided to ditch most of their conservative base in the hopes of going native and pulling in liberal democrats this election. The democrats and obama have been utter failures in policy and in action and are loathed by large swathes of the country and obamacare is about to make that loathing even larger.

If this is the strategy this is probably the best cycle possible to kick a huge part of their conservative base to the curb and still win. Trouble is throwing a huge part of your base under the bus because you detest them and want rid of them is a one or two election stint where doing so “might” get you elected or re-elected being a Republican, after 2016 your are doomed. Unless you come out of the closet and announce your the next liberal Santa Clause party. I want to see the fearless turtle man out liberal a real liberal when it comes to buying votes.

1. McConnell Voted to Let Harry Reid Fund ObamaCare (2013, RCV 206) Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky voted to end debate and allow Senate Democrats to re-insert funding for ObamaCare into the Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government. Although McConnell did vote against the final bill, he and all Republicans knew that voting for cloture to end debate would allow Senator Harry Reid to fund ObamaCare by a party-line vote, and thus a vote for cloture was a de facto vote to fund ObamaCare.

That vote was to end debate and allow a vote on the House Bill which defunded it. It was defeated on a party-line vote, then there was another vote. What would not ever voting on the House bill have accomplished? Nothing - Obamacare was mandatory spending. Not voting would not have effected a thing. This argument that debate should have never ended to hold a vote on the House bill defunding it does not make a bit of sense.

Obamacare was mandatory spending. Not voting would not have effected a thing.

1) The is no such thing as "mandatory spending" 2) If it were possible that "not voting" could have no effect then it would also be necessarily true, on the same vote, that "voting" would no effect. The idea that any vote it utterly meaningless is absurd.

Obamacare was completely revised by the Senate, violating the principle that revenue bills originate in the House. It was rammed through by a lame duck Congress at the last damn minute of the last damn hour! On December 23, two days before Christmas, the Senate voted 6039 to end debate on the bill: a cloture vote to end the filibuster by opponents. The bill then passed by a vote of 6039 on December 24th, Christmas Eve, with all Democrats and two independents voting for, and all Republicans voting against (except for Jim Bunning, who did not vote)!

19
posted on 10/15/2014 8:10:37 AM PDT
by Theophilus
(Be as prolific as you are pro-life.)

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